F                         Bb/F                              F     Bb/F 
"An extremely quiet child" they called you in your school reports 
F                           Bbsus/F  Bb/F              F      Bb/F 
"He's always taken interest in the subjects that he's taught" 
    Am                                                       Gm                  
So what was it that brought the squad car screaming up your drive 
C                               Bb                  F    Bb/F 
To notify your parents of the manner in which you died 

F                         Bb/F                            F    Bb/F   
At St. Patricks every Sunday, Father Fletcher heard your sins 
F                           Bbsus/F  Bb/F                 F    Bb/F 
"Oh, he's unconcerned with competition he never cares to win" 
    Am                                            Gm     
But blood stained a young hand that never held a gun 
C                                   Bb                  F    Bb/F      
And his parents never thought of him as their troubled son 

F  Am/E       Dm           
"Now you'll never get to Heaven"  
Gm         C                   F         A7              
Mama said Remember Mama said Ticking, ticking 
Dm                                Gm 
"Grow up straight and true blue, Run along to bed" 
C  C/Bb   Am    Gm          F  
Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking 

F                                  Bb/F                    F    Bb/F          
They had you holed up in a downtown bar screaming for a priest 
F                                        Bbsus/F  Bb/F              F    Bb/F   
Some gook said "His brain's just snapped" then someone called the police 
    Am                                                 Gm   
You'd knifed a Negro waiter who had tried to calm you down 
C                                          Bb                  F    Bb/F   
Oh you'd pulled a gun and told them all to lay still on the ground 

F                         Bb/F                  F   
Promising to hurt no one, providing they were still 
F                                  Bbsus/F  Bb/F              F 
A young man tried to make a break, with tear-filled eyes you killed 
    Am                                                 Gm   
That gun butt felt so smooth and warm cradled in your palm 
C                                          Bb                  F    
Oh your childhood cried out in your head "they mean to do you harm" 

F  Am/E       Dm                        Gm   
"Don't ever ride on the devil's knee" Mama said 
C                   F         A7      
Remember mama said Ticking, ticking 
Dm                                Gm 
"Pay your penance well, my child Fear where angels tread" 
C  C/Bb   Am    Gm          F  
Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking 

F                         Bb/F                  F   
Within an hour the news had reached the media machine 
F                                  Bbsus/F  Bb/F               
A male caucasian with a gun had gone berserk in Queens 
    Am                                                 Gm   
The area had been sealed off, the kids sent home from school 
C                                          Bb                  F    
Fourteen people lying dead in a bar they called the Kicking Mule 

F                               Bb/F                    F   
Oh they pleaded to your sanity for the sake of those inside 
F                                  Bbsus/F  Bb/F              F 
"Throw out your gun, walk out slow just keep your hands held high" 
    Am                                                           Gm   
But they pumped you full of rifle shells as you stepped out the door 
C                                       Bb                         F     
Oh you danced in death like a marionette on the vengeance of the law 

F  Am/E   Dm                        Gm 
"You've slept too long in silence" Mama said 
C                   F         A7   
Remember Mama said Ticking, ticking 
Dm                                            Gm 
"Crazy boy, you'll only wind up with strange notions in your head" 
C  C/Bb   Am    Gm          F  
Hear it, hear it, ticking, ticking 

Outro: F - C/F - Bb/F